Doves

Welcome to the Doves

2012 RECAP

Dear Doves Parents,

This year the Doves have learned how to work, play, laugh, love and care for each other.  It is a tremendous developmental process to recognize value one’s own needs and wants as well as respect and honor those who are your friends.  We hope that this year has been as memorable for them as it has been for us.

 Each child holds a special and treasured place in our hearts and we are thankful that you have shared your child with us.  Each giggle, cry and warm embrace will be forever kept in our hearts. So as we near the end of the year, lets reflect. We came together in September some shy and apprehensive, others confident and jovial and here we are in June secure, more hopeful and brimming with love. The Doves class has wonderfully grown and has shown great improvements. 

Monthly Lessons

The Academic Classroom   

  The Doves have become stronger learners.  They have worked diligently to gain better letter recognition, phonemic awareness, penmanship skills, and number identification and value representation. Through careful discussions and observations they have also strengthened their critical thinking skills. Working in these areas fosters a strong academic foundation.

Self Portraits

Each month every child illustrates a self-portrait as means to record an image of him or herself as to develop their visual/ spatial and fine motor skills. This process helps develop a sense of self.  As they mature the illustration becomes more detailed.  

Letter of the Week

We introduced a letter for the week. With the letter of the week the Doves practiced vocalizing the proper phonemic sound as well as correct letter formation. While working with a teacher one on one or in small groups the students traced and wrote both upper and lowercase letters.  Several interactive ENO board activities included listening to songs about each letter and brainstorming as a class to create a list of words that began with the initial sound. In addition the students played games in which they identified and circled the initial letter sound for a word provided by the teacher. Montessori materials were used to further support retaining this information. The Doves used their gross motor skills to sky write the letter of the week an activity that strengthen their large muscle memory. 

Introducing Poetry

 Throughout the year the students read and recited poetry based on current events. The Doves created a poetry book where they illustrated a picture for each poem. The students enjoyed exploring the poem’s rhyming words, repeating words and or phrase. Many young emergent readers were able to make the connection that some words in the poems were also on our word wall. 

September

During September we focused on familiarizing ourselves with each other, building our classroom community and establishing routines. The students were introduced to Montessori shelves, materials and watched demonstrations on correct use of each material. Students were taught how to keep their personal belonging in their proper places and how maintain them throughout the day. This practice encourages their independence within the classroom and throughout the school building. They have learned how to prepare and clean their work space.  

It was important for them to help develop the classroom rules; playing an active part in its selection, helps develop willing participation.  Our class practiced following and demonstrating the acronym C.A.R.E.S.  The first few weeks of school we discuss, and demonstrate the following, which we continued to build upon through the year.

Cooperation – working with each other and the teacher to complete a task including sharing and participating during group activities. Team work activities enable students to see the value that each person brings to a project.

Assertion - speaking up for oneself in a gentle and polite manner to request a need or want, in addition to aiding others in need.

Respect & Responsibility – taking care of one’s own and or classroom materials, treating others kindly.

Empathy – thinking about others feeling before you act or respond. Treating others the way you want to be treated or how they want someone to treat their family members.

Self-control – Thinking about ones actions or choices prior to making a decision. Developing skills to focus and stay on task.

We believe these are important components to building supportive and loving young world citizens.

Building Classroom Community 

• Students play an integral part in developing class rules.  They helped brainstorm rules and demonstrate appropriate behaviors that promote safety and learning.
• During morning meeting we greet each other with various greeting; such as shaking hands, butterfly wave. These activities encourage giving eye contact and using pleasant greetings, necessary life skills.
• Students present an item to share and discuss with the class. This is an activity that fosters public speaking and presentation skills.
• Building daily routines and care of environment Sharing space and materials
• Exploring the Montessori material shelves. (Language, Math, Sensorial, Science, Library, Practical Life, and the Art area)
• Becoming familiar with their new environment.

October

 In fall we began our study of trees and how the leaves change color, carefully observing the changes in our environment.  To familiarize ourselves with the different types of trees, we made several neighborhood walks. Each Dove collected a variety leaves, focusing on color, shape and size. As careful scientist, the leaves we collected were placed into zip locks bags for further examination. They noticed that some leaves changed from green to yellow, orange or red and finally brown when they decay. The students were able to verbalize the changes of their specimens.

Language Arts

The Doves created beautiful pictures with fall colors each week. They used crayons, paint, and objects around the classroom to familiarize themselves with the color of the week. They also learned the color word, which was added to our word wall.

• Recognition of the main fall colors of : yellow, red, orange, brown and dark green
• Painted pictures using one fall color each week
• Searched for objects in magazines that contained the color of the week
• Practiced fine motor skills of tearing out pictures of objects that had the color of the week.
• Letter of the Week M, P, S
• Identification of each letter 
• Listened to and practiced pronouncing the phonemic sound
• Traced and wrote each letter, sky writing
• Brainstormed and illustrated images that begin with each letter
• Homework activities were to find pictures that begin the sound and letter of the week.  This exercise strengthens sound and symbol recognition. 
• Creating art activities that begin with the letter of the week

Math

In Math the Doves practice writing the number symbols, demonstrating one to on correspondence and value, number sequence, and shape recognition.

• Each week we focused on one number and corresponding shape beginning with the number zero and circle.
• Counted and recognized numbers zero through four
• Introduction to Montessori material such as sand numbers and the Spindle Box
• Students traced the symbol. 
• Calendar (the days of weeks and the sequences)

Science

We began our study of the fall weather and prepared to participate in the school wide farmers market.  As careful observers of our environment we walked around the courtyard to notice the changes that were occurring during the fall season. 

• Observed changes in the environment/ weather
• Read and illustrated class poem “Leaves”
• Differentiated between fruit & vegetables
• Tasted and observed pomegranates
• Brought in Fresh Friday fall fruit and vegetable taste testing
• Farmers market activities
• Created tissue paper collage of fall fruit or vegetable
• Practical life/ role playing (role play of a customer or a farmer.) 
• Shopping etiquette

Montessori Materials

The Montessori materials helped reinforce their writing, hand and eye coordination, and practical life skills. 

• Sand letters
• Sand numbers
• Moveable letters
• Transferring 
• Spooning
• Spindle Box
• Class market

November 

Language Arts

We continue to introduce and practice our sight words, focusing on the beginning sounds.   The students practice the letter and number for the week in our class notebooks or activity sheets. 

Current Events

This thankful month your child continued to bring us great delight and joy.   We are actively worked with the class to develop the social skill of cooperation. They are encouraged to work with each other, take turns and encourage one another. Our activities were used to deepen and strengthen our caring class community. As a practical life lesson each student was asked to bring in an item to contribute to our Thanksgiving Pot Luck, which was a delicious success. 

With a giggle and a wiggle they treasured the process of creating turkey hand prints, as we brushed wet paint unto their hands.  This activity reinforced our color study, in addition to identifying the parts of the hand. The children took great care to think about, describe and illustrate pictures about what they were most thankful for. 

• Poem: Thanksgiving
• Turkey hand prints
• Identifying parts of the hand

Math

Math remained an exciting part of our day when we sang songs and learned how numbers are used every day.   During our math activities the Doves learned the finger songs, One Elephant Went Out to Play Upon a Spider’s Web One Day and Where Is Thumbkin? These songs reinforce number value, as well as and build familiarity with naming the parts of the hand.   The shapes of the month were hexagon and pentagon which were used to reinforce numbers 5 and 6.

• Songs
• Where is Thumbkin?
• One Elephant Went Out to play Upon a Spider’s Web One Day
• Shapes 
• Hexagon
• Pentagon
• Counting and recognizing numbers zero through five.
• Counting and recognizing numbers zero through six

Science

A harvesting we went.  The Farmer’s Market delighted all the children, they so enjoyed picking their own fresh foods.   Our class learned about the delicious fruits and vegetables available during the fall.  As part of our study the children also learned the art of paper tissue collage.  They collaged and glued tissue paper strips together to create a fall fruit or vegetable for our harvest basket. We cut open a pomegranate to taste the juice from the seeds. They liked the texture of the interior skin of the pomegranate. The students brought in seasonal fruits and vegetables to share with the class.

Introduction to Cultural Studies

To begin our journey to Africa we spoke about the NYC marathon winner Geoffrey Mutai from Kenya Africa. On our Eno board we watched a news clip of Geoffrey Mutai winning the NYC marathon.  We introduced the puzzle map of Africa and located Kenya, the county from where the winner was born. The children were taught the continent song. As a class we roll played traveling to Africa. Each passenger was given a number card which was used as boarding passes to board our Doves Airline. The students were able to reenact the process of boarding an airplane and traveling to another country. 

December

Current Events

Cooperation remains our social emotional theme for this month.  It is a valuable skill to develop a caring class community. The Doves were introduced to three holidays that are celebrated throughout New York City; Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas. They learned that all three holidays share a common theme which is caring about friends and family.  We had an awesome time during our New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, end of the year celebration, and rang in 2012 with joy and laughter. They danced with each other and played many games.  Our friends have learned so much over the past few months.

• Read stories about each holiday
• Lit our paper Kwanzaa kinara
• Played the Dreidle game for Hanukkah
• Colored holiday symbols for Christmas

Language Arts

We reviewed our sight words, located them in our lessons and listened for them during our discussions.  Daily the children practiced identifying and writing their name.  We have brainstormed words that begin with the initial sounds of Bb and Ff. During our study of the letter Bb, we made bean dip for the class and replicated the Kenyan flag for the letter Ff.  

• Prepared a bean dip
• Created Kenyan Flag
• Finger traced the sand letters
• Located objects with the letter /f/ and /b/ sound.
• Read and illustrated the poem, Winter Clothes

Math

During math we have presented the shapes oval and heart to the class. The students were encouraged to locate the shapes around the room as well as identify objects that are composed of these shapes, for example, our eyes or sunglasses resemble ovals. We have begun using bar graphs to represent, count and compare the quantity of objects.  

• Graphing 
• Sand number 
• Oval cut outs 

Cultural Studies

Our journey through Kenya continued.  We learned to identify Kenya’s shape on the map and globe, as well as, how to recognize the Kenyan flag and the meaning of the colors and symbols.  This month we learned about the beautiful beads that are worn by the Maasai (a group of people that in live in Kenya). We also read the book Papa Do You Love Me by Barbara M. Joosse which began our journey into their daily life as a Maasai. Each student created their own Maasai shield, learning about its use, how it’s made and the significance of the colors and symbols.  We also read Moja Means One a Swahili counting book, which also illustrates some activities of the Kenyan culture. (Red- brave, black-rain, green- grass, blue-sky, orange-woman, yellow-sun, white- milk)

• Bead making
• Painted a Maasai shield.
• Kenyan Swahili counting.
• To reinforce our study of the Maasai beadwork, the students were introduced to stringing large wooden beads and created patterns based on the meanings of each color.

Montessori

  Students use wooden beading

• Stringing beads and pattern beads
• sand numbers
• dry erase boards and 
• moveable letters

January 

It was lovely to see everyone back for the New Year, ready to get back to work and begin the New Year on the right path. Everyone was happy to see each other and share the vacation stories. The students reviewed the class rules, sight words, numbers, and the country of Kenya.  

 Language Arts

The students worked with the-at family of words. They placed a consonant in front of –at to create different c-v-c words (example p-at= pat). They used the movable letters to visualize each word they created with the-at family. Letters for the month Tt, Rr, Dd  

Current Events

In celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, we discussed how Dr. King helped change the civil rights laws for all people.  They learned that he wanted equal rights for all people and used non-violence to spread the message of equality.  We read part of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I have a dream speech. Each student completed the sentence starter; I have a dream to be a _______. They also provided the reason why they want to be that person.  The sentences were dictated to the teacher, and the students traced over the highlighted sentences.  The students were able to clearly articulate themselves through their writing. 

On Ground Hog Day we used the Eno board to show how the ground hog and its shadow to determine how many more weeks of winter weather.

Montessori Works

• Moveable letters
• Lower case letter tracing
• Counting bears

February

Preparing for our visit to Washington DC

During February we prepared for our trip to Washington D.C., to the Smithsonian Museum of African American History ground breaking ceremony.  We talked about Washington D.C.’s location, by identifying it on our United States Puzzle maps.  The students were excited to learn that the President of the United States worked and lived. 

• What is a museum?
• Why is it important to keep items from our past?
• What is a ground breaking ceremony?
• Who is our President/ what number?
• Proper etiquette and presenting self in public
• Public speaking rehearsals 

Current Events

This year’s Valentine’s Day activity we focused on empathy for friends. The Doves Celebrated Valentine’s Day with a pajama party. The students created Valentine cards for their loved ones.  The practiced laced yarn around their card, an activity that strengthens dexterity, hand eye coordination, sequencing and concentration.

On the Eno board the students were able to see the traditional costumes used to celebrate Chinese New Year. We read the book my First Chinese New Year.  We talked about some traditions of the Chinese people.  The children practiced the skill of transferring noodles using stainless steel chopsticks.  

Montessori Works

The Doves practiced tweezing with chop sticks, this material helps children focus on developing eye hand coordination, sequencing and developing fine motors skills essential for beginning penmanship.

Math 

This month our class began studying graphs.  The students were taught how to differentiate between horizontal and vertical bar graphs.  In addition, it was explained that bar graphs are visual aids to compare and contrast quantity of objects. The Doves used M&M’s to sort and graph the different colored M&M’s.   The students were able to compare each others graph. Many noticed who had more or less or equal the amount of M&M’s.

March

Language Arts

In celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday we read many of his wonderful books. The first week of March the Doves brought in different Dr. Seuss books for their share. The students were inspired to write where and with whom they would eat Green Eggs and Ham.  During physical education, each student reenacted the Dr. Seuss book, Green Eggs and Ham by tossing and balancing bean bags, representing the platter of eggs and ham, on their head, hands and other body parts.

• Read various Dr. Seuss books
• Wrote creative sentences
• Exercised with Beanbags
• Reenacted books play of a book

Math

The Doves counted from zero through nine and counted by tens. During recess the Doves located the numbers on the ground, then they jumped on the corresponding number stated by the teacher. To reinforce counting by tens the student would count by tens while jumping from one circle to another.

• Strengthened large muscles by performing jumping activities
• Wrote numbers from zero through nine.
• Maneuvered around numbered poly spots to build gross motor and swiftness
• Counted with Blue and Red Rods

Cultural Studies

On our African safari, the students studied the lions found in Ethiopia. They studied their natural habitat. They were taught how to distinguish between the lion, lioness and cubs.

• Studied the difference between carnivore, herbivore and omnivore
• What animals fit it these categories?
• What do these animals eat
• Documentary of a lion’s habitat.

Science 

The Doves be noticed that outdoor environment was changing. We discussed the new season of spring. Our discussion began our study for flowers and gardening.  We helped prepared our school garden for our new seeds. Every day the Doves were excited to learn more about What do flowers and plants need to grow?

• Create green house
• Listed/ labeled parts of flower and its function
• Illustrated flowers
• Selected and planted seeds in greenhouse
• Prepare community garden soil
• Viewed documentary video clip of flowers development

April

The children began to notice the changes in the weather.  Finally spring has arrived and their excitement builds.  We began our study of new season with a neighborhood walk to observe the new sounds of birds tweeting, new buds and leaves forming on the trees.  

Science

We continued our planting unit by reading Eric Carle’s book The Tiny Seed.  The children learned what flowers need to grow healthy and strong, the parts of plant and completed sequencing activities to help remember the steps for growing a strong plant.  Each student was responsible for maintaining his or her own greenhouse, where they would carefully monitor their seeds development.

• Discussed what is a greenhouse and how does it help the plant grow
• Brainstormed what plants need to grow healthy and why: water, soil, sunlight, clean air
• The students brought in a variety of flower seeds
• Compared the sizes of seeds
• Selected the seeds they wanted to see mature
• Added soil, seeds and water to their greenhouse
• Monitored and compared their growth

Language

The letters we have worked with are K, V, G, and C. They have used the moveable letters, words and pictures with these initial sounds. The students used team work to create the symbol K. They work together as a team to create both upper and lower letter K. They individually place themselves to build the letter of the week. As a fun name game we would change the initial letter sound of their first letter first name. As the weeks progressed they realized that the names rhymed.

• Played team work activities
• Practiced writing on line dry erase boards
• Completed activity sheets
• Read and Illustrated poem, April Shower

Math 

The children begin to notice how tall they have grown over the past months.  In our discussions we began to talk about measurement. We discussed some things we measure, such as time, weight and capacity and height.  As curious minds ponder, they began to debate, who was the tallest in person in the class? So our quest began with lining up according to height. To further their curiosity into our measurement unit, we read the book Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni. 

• Differentiate between standard and nonstandard units of measurements.
• What is an inch? Demonstrating how we use rulers
• Introduced Math and Science material Balancing Scale. Students weighted a variety of objects using small white beads as weights a nonstandard unit of measurement. The determined if the scale was balanced or unbalance.  To observe which objects were lighter or heavier.
• Measured length and width of class using students shoes
• Measured length and width of class 
• Each child outline was traced on to brown paper, which represented their actual size.  The children measured the length of their bodies using both standard and non-standard units of measurement such as crayons and markers.
• Identified teen numbers and the corresponding value

Cultural Studies

The Doves studied zebras, focusing on the Grevy Zebra which is lives in Ethiopia, and the Eastern and Southeastern countries in Africa.  These zebras are in danger of becoming extinct, due to illegal hunting for its skin and meat.  They learned that local organizations are trying to save them and increase the population. 

• Located on the map of Africa where the zebra population lives
• Identified Ethiopia on the map 
• Colored  image of Ethiopia’s shape
• Discussed what it means to be endangered? 
• Classified the three types of zebras by stripe pattern. Burchell, Mountain, Grevy
• Distinguished between the habitats of each type of zebra. Savannah, Grassland and Mountain
• How does the stripe pattern help them survive in the wild? Camouflage
• Who are their main predators? Lion and alligators
• What do they eat? Herbivore mainly grasses
• What are the proper names for each gender? Female /mare, male/ stallion, baby/ foal
• How do they move? Trot, gallop, walk, run. During Physical Education we practiced moving like a zebra while foraging for grass, migrating during the dry season and escaping from stalking lions.

May

Language Arts

 May flowers were blooming in. The student continued to maintaining their flowers and prepared them for their mother’s day gifts. They student made cards for their mother. They also enjoy decorating their flower pots. They use different sizes and shapes. This reinforced the Shapes hearts and stars.  The letters for the month were Vv, Jj, Kk, and Zz.  The student created their own Z song by brainstorming for words that begin with the letter Zz.

• Juggling activity
• Letter z song
• Brainstorming activity

Math

The Doves explore with the number twenty through twenty nine and thirty through thirty nine. They were able to see the patterns in the numbers. They practice writing the numbers in their class notebook and see the numbers twenty through thirty one.

• Daily calendar
• Bear counters
• Sand numbers
• Writing number pad.

Science

We continued our planting unit of growing flowers in a greenhouse.  Once the plants were too tall and numerous for the small greenhouse, the children transferred their seedling to a larger pot.  The realized that plants need adequate room to grow properly, just like they need larger clothes as they grow, flowers need more space, water, air, soil sunlight.  These flower pots were decorated and given as gifts for Mother’s Day. 

Our snail study began, thanks to a student who noticed that snails were beginning to emerge during spring and brought one in to class.  They decided the snail would be our class pet, and so began our delightful journey into the life of a snail.  We introduced the process of voting as a means to name our new class friend. The children learned that voting was a fair process in which everyone’s opinion mattered, yet everyone had to work together to make a common choice.   Each child chose a name that they felt was best suited for the snail as the interest in snails grew; we went on a snail hunt in our courtyard.  There they found two more snails to join our family.  Again we voted, and our new pets are named Condo and Apple.

• We learned that snails live in shaded habitats.  They avoid the sun as to protect their moist bodies from drying out or dehydrating.  
• Identified and labeled the snails body diagram
• During gym we crawled like snails.  The children noticed that the snails did not move very fast, but can travel long distances. This activity strengthens their gross motor skills.   
• They also discovered that a snails shell is hard and are designed to protect them from danger.  As one student mentioned, “It’s like armor a knight wears.”  
• The students viewed a science clip of snail eating a lettuce.

Montessori Work

The materials that were used were red rods to create a maze. The maze they created themselves was used to work their way in and out the maze. This this work encourages critical thinking and problem solving. They also used Sand letters to practice tracing the letter of the week as well as practicing the letter from the previous months. 

June

Welcome to the End of Year

As the year comes to an end we continue to discuss our commonalities.  The Doves will practice our end of the year songs and poems.  We will say goodbye to our graduating friends and welcome in the summer. 

Language Arts

Throughout the year we learned how to articulate the letter sound and identify letters in their names. They will continue to practice writing their names, writing and recognizing the sight words, and read simple sentences.  We reviewed the days of the week, months of the year and listen for our sight words during our read alouds.

Cultural Studies

What an exciting adventure we had visiting Africa. For their final project each student worked on a printmaking illustration of a Grevy zebra in its natural habitat.  They used a dull pencil on a thin sheet of Styrofoam to draw their interpretation of a Grevy zebra. We use black ink to depict the black and white stripe pattern of the zebra. This is the brief outline of the process.  Some students recognized that the image was backwards or faced the opposite direction.  As one student state, “It’s a big stamp.” As so ends our trip to Ethiopia. 

• Carefully looked at pictures of live zebras

• Drew the image
• Added details including the mane, eyes mouth, nose, legs and  tail
• Copied strip pattern and habitat
• Inked brayer roller and inking plate
• Inked Styrofoam plate 
• Transferred printing plate to watercolor paper
• Framed image.

Current Events

As a special treat to the father’s, uncles or special man in the Doves life we asked them to share an activity with the class. Thanks to all the fathers and family friends who visited our class. The children had a wonderful time.